Shoe-sewing machine.



F. ASHWORTH.

SHOE SEWING MACHlNE. APPLICAHON meu 1AN.?.1915.

mmm Dec'. 10i ma.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

F. ASHWORH.

SHOE SEWING MACHINE.

APPLICATION man mm2. 1915.

Patented Dec. 10, 1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEIoE.

FRED ASHWORTH, OF BEVERLY, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGN- MENTS, TO UNITED SHOE MACHINERY CORPORATION, OF PATERSON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

SHOE-SEWING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 10, 1918.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, FRED AsHwolrrH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Beverly, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Shoe-Sewing Machines; and I do hereby declare the following to he a full, clear, and eXact description of the invention, such as Will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to shoe sewing machines, and more particularly to shoe sewing machines of the class employed in sewing an outsole to the attached welt, upper and insole of a welted shoe. The invention, however, is not limit-ed to this particular class of machines, but certain features thereof may be embodied with advantage in'other machines. y

The primary object of the invention is to provide shoe sewing machines with a. presserfoot actuating and controlling mechanism, which is simple in construction and certain and reliable in operation and in which lost motion between the parts is reduced to a minimum.

W ith this object in view, a feature of the invention contemplates the provision in a shoe sewing machine of a presser-foot mechanism comprising a threaded rod, a nut threaded on the rod and means for relatively turning the nut and the rod to raise or lower the presser-foot.

The presser-foot mechanism of shoe sewing machines for sewing outsoles of welted shoes is ordinarily constructed and arranged to lock the presser-foot in lowered or work engaging position, during each cycle of operation, and in the present embodiment of the invention the presser-foot is locked by relativelyllocking the nut and the rod by which the Vpresser-foot is actuated. By employing the above feature of construction, applicant hasl produced an improved and simplified presser-foot mechanism 4which will actuate and control the presser-foot in a certain and reliable manner and which comprises relatively few connections between relatively movable elements', with the result that lost motion is, to a great extent, eliminated.

In certain machines employed in sewing shoes, particularly machines for sewing ontsoles of welted shoes, the presser-foot is depressed positively' a predetermined distance to compress the parts of the work engaged between the presser-foot and the work support firmly together. VAnother feature of the present invention contemplates the provision in combination with mechanism for actuating the presser-foot to positively depress the same while the presser-foot is engaged with the work, of means for controlling the action of said mechanism, having provision for adjustment to vary the extent of the depressing movement imparted to the presser-foot.

Other features of the invention consist of certain novel and improved constructions,

arrangements and combinations of parts hereinafter described and articularly pointed out in the claims, tlie advantages of which will be obvious to those skilled in the art.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating the features of the invention in their preferred forms, Figure 1 is a view in side elevation, illustrating a portion of a shoe sewing machine embodying the resent invention; Fig. 2 is a View in vertical section of a portion of the mechanism illustrated in Fig. l; Fig. 3 is a view partly "in plan and partly in horizontal section of a portion of the mechanism illustrated in Fig. 1; Fig. -l

is a view similar to Fig. 3 illustrating certain of the parts in different positions; Fig. 5 is a detail View in side elevation /illustrating a portion of the mechanism illustrated in Fig. 1, with certain of the arts removed; and Fig. (S is a detail sectional view taken substantially on the line 6 6 of Fig. 3. f

The presser-foot mechanism illustrated in the drawings is designed particularly to be applied to a machine of the same general type as that illustrated in applicants Patent No. 1,169,909. dated February 1, 1916. Only so much of this machine has been illustrated as is essential to show the connection of the 100 present invention therewith. In the drawings the curved hook needle is indicated at 2, thelawl at 4, the work support at 6 and the presser-foot at 8. With the exception of the presser-foot the parts referred to above are constructed, arranged and operated in substantially the same manner as the corresponding parts of the machine illustrated and described in the above application.

The presser-foot is mounted upon the forwardly extending arm 10 of a threearmed lever pivoted on a stud 12 and suitable movements are imparted to the presser-foot during each cycle of operation of the machine by swinging this lever about the stud 12. The mode of operation of the presser-foot in the present embodiment of the invention is substantially the same as in the machine described in the above application. The presser-foot during each cycle of operations is iaised from the work to allow the Work to be fed, is then moved yieldingly into engagement with the work, is thereafter depressed a predetermined distance and is locked in depressed position during the remainder of the cycle of operations.

The lever which carries the presser-foot is provided with a downwardly extending arm 14 connected by a link 16 with anI arm 18 mounted upon a stud 20 and constituting,r a part of the pull-oli mechanism which need not be described herein. The presser-foot is moved yieldingly into engagement with the Work after it has been raised from the work by the action of a tension springr 22 attached at` one end to the link 16 and at the other to a fixed point on the frame.

The presser-foot lever is provided with a rearwardly extending arm 24 to which is connected the mechanism for raising the presser-foot from the Work and for depress ing the presser-foot. This mechanism comprises in the construction illustrated, a longitudinally movable rod 2G carrying at its upper end a stud or pin 28 which engages in a slot in the rear end of the arm 24. The rod 26 is mounted to slide longitudinally in cylindrical guide bores in the spaced arms of a yoke 30, the arms of whichare provided With bearing sleeves 32 extending outwardly therefrom. which engage in suitable bearings in a bracket 34 fixed to the frame of the machine. The rod 26 is provided with a series of threads 36 of steep pitch, and a rotatable nut 40 is threaded on the rod between the arms of the yoke 30. With this construction the nut is allowed to turn on the rod, but is prevented from longitudinal movement with the rod by its engagement with the arms of the yoke 30. To raise the presser-foot from the work, the nut 40 is rotated in a counterclockwise direction (Figs. 3 and 4). thereby drawing the rod 26 downwardly through its bearings in the yoke 30. lVhen the presser-foot has been 1raised from the work, and the Work has been fed forward a distance equal to the length of one stitch, the nut 40 is released by its actu ating mechanism so as to permit the nut to turn freely on the rod and allow the presserfoot to be yieldingly engaged with the Work by the action of the springr 22 and to accommodate itself to the thickness of the stock. The presser-foot is then depressed a predetermined distance from the position it assumes under the action of the spring by turning the nut 40 in the opposite direction from that in which it was turned to lift the presser-foot, or in a clockwise direction (Figs. 3 and 4). Duringr the remainder of the cycle of operations the presser-foot is locked in depressed position by locking the nut from turning movement on the rod.

The manner in which the yoke 30 is mounted in the bracket 34 permits the yoke to turn in its bearings in said bracket about the rod 26. A pair of pawls 42 are mounted in suitable guides in the yoke 3() to slide radially of the nut 40, and are formed with teeth on their inner ends which may be engaged with teeth on the periphery of the Init. These pawls are arranged side by side in the yoke as shown in Fig. (i. In the illus'- trated construction the peripheral teeth on the nut are formed on a hardened ring 44, which constitutes the peripheral portion of the nut and is secured by screws to the central portion of the nut. The pawls are moved into and out of engagement with the nut and the yoke 30 is rocked in its bearings during each cycle of operation, the nut being turned on the rod 26 by the turning! movement of the yoke While the pawls 42 are engaged with the nut. The yoke 3() is rocked back and forth in its bearings by means of a bell crank 46-48 pivoted on a stud 50, the arm 46 of which has a series of gear teeth 52 meshing with the teeth of a gear segment 54 carried by the yoke 30. The arm 48 of the bell crank carries a cam roll 54a which engages in a cam groove formed in a cam disk 58 fixed to the main shafty 60 of the machine. The paivls 42 are moved into and out of engage-ment with the periphery' of the nut by the movement of a bell crank 62-64 pivotcd on a stud 66 carried by the yoke 30, the arm 62 of which enga-ges in opposed recesses in the pawls. A leaf spring 68 secured to the central portion or hub of the bell crank, and engaging beneath a cross bar 70 on the yoke 30 acts to move the pawls into engagement With the periphery of the nut and to maintain the pawls in engagement with the nut, except at such times as the bell crank (S2- 64 is actuated to release the pawls.

Starting at `the point in a cycle of operations just before the work is fed, the yoke 30 is rotated in a counterclockwise 'direction (Figs. VEl and 4) while the pavvlsu are held in engagement with the peripheral teeth ori the nut 40. so that the turning movement of the yoke turns the nut 40 on the rod 26 in a A ity.

e ment lon itudinally of direction to raise the presser-foot from the work. After the work has been fed, the yoke 30 is turned in theopposite direction or in a clockwise direction Figs. 3 and 4, and the pawls are then released from the nut 40 to allow the presser-foot to be yieldingly engaged with the work by the spring 22. When the yoke has executed a considerable portion of its movement in a clockwise clirection, the pawls are again engaged with the nut 40 and the continued tiirnin movement of the block in a clockwise direction turns the nut to depress the presser-foot a predetermined distance from the position it assumed under the action of the spring 22.

To enable the pawl actuating bell crank 62-64 to be operated to disengage the pawls from the peripheral teeth on the nut 40, the arm 64 of the bell crank is rovided with a downwardly extending stud 2 at its extrem- A bell crank lever 74476 is pivoted upon a stud 78 and upon the arm 74 of this lever'is mounted a block 80 which lies below the path in which the stud 72 moves as the yoke 30 turns in a direction to lift the presser-foot. The yoke 80 is provided with an angular recess 82 and is mounted upon the arm 74 in a position such that as the yoke 30 completes its presser-foot lifting movement the stud 72 is located in a position immediately above the recess 82. The arm 74 of the bell crank 74-76 is then raised t0 engage the stud in the recess 82. Now when the yoke 30 turns back in the opposite direction or to the right (Figs. 3 and 4) the stud 72 engages the inclined face 84` of the recess 82 and the bell-crank 62-64 is actuated during the continued turning movement of the yoke 30 to release the pawls from the teeth on the periphery of the nut allowing the presser-foot to be yieldingly engaged with the work by the sprin 22. The stud 72 is released from the inclined face 84 of the recess 82 when the yoke 30 has turned a sufficient distance to carry the stud off the end of said face, as shown in Fig. 3. The pawls are then engaged with the teeth on the periphery of the nut 40, by the spring 68 and the continued turning movement of the yoke 30 in a right hand direction'acts to depress the presser-foot positively a predetermined distance, thereby compressing the parts of the work engaged between the work support and the presser-foot firmly together. The yoke 30 is held fixed by the be l crank lever 46-48 during the remainder of the cycle of operations to lock the presserfoot in depressed position. In order to enable the extent of the depressing movement imparted at this time to the presser-foot to be varied the block 80 is mounted for adjustthe arm 74. In the construction illustrated a tongue and groove connection is provided between the arm 74 and the block 80, and the block is secured to the arm by means of a screw 86 engaging in a slot 88 in the block andscrewed into the arm. By adjusting the block 80 longitudinally of the arm, the point in the turning movement f the yoke 30 in a right hand direction, at which the stud 72 is released from the face 84 of the recess 82, may be varied to increase or decrease the portion of the rotary movement of the yoke 30 which is ellective to depress the presser-foot. The bell crank lever 7476 is provided with a cam vroll 92 which engages in a cam 92a formed in the cam disk 58, and the bell crank is thereby' actuated to raise the block 80 to engage the stud 72 in the recess 82 and to lower the block out of the path of said .stud at the proper time during each cycle of operations.

In order that the presser-foot may be unlocked and lifted at a4 time when it is normally locked in work engaging position a lever 94 is pivoted upon the stud 96 carried by the presser-foot lever. The lever 94 is provided with a downwardly.extending arm 98 to which is pivotally connected the upper end of a link 100. The lower end of the link is pivotally connected with a lever 102 pivoted at 102 and formed with an extension 102b which lies behind the arm 62 of the bell crank lever 62-64 as shown particularly in Figs. 3 and 6. The lever 94 is formed with an operating arm 104 which is swun to the rear to actuate the lever 94 to unlock and lift the presser-foot. As the arm 104 of the lever 94 is moved rearward, the lever 102 is actuated through the link 100 to engage its extension 102b with the arm 62 of the bell crank lever 62-64, and move the same, to disengage the pawls 42 fromi the nut and thereby unlock the presser-foot. The lever 94 is provided with a third arm 106 in which is mounted the abutment screw 108 arranged to engage the arm 24 of the presser-foot lever. When the lever 94 has been swung about the stud 96 by the rearward movement of the arm 104 to a sufficient extent to disengage the pawls 42 from the nut 40 the abutment screw 108 engages the arm 24 of the presser-foot lever and the presser-foot lever is thereby actuated to lift the presser-foot by 'the continued movement of the lever 94. The center of the pivotal connection between the arm 98 and the link 100 is locatedsubstantially the same distance from the axis of the stud 96 as the axis of the stud 12 upon which the presserfoot lever is mounted and the abutment y screw 108 is adjusted so that it engages the arm 24 of the presser-foot lever as the center of the pivotal connection between the link 100 and the arm 98 is brought into alinemeiit with the axis of the stud 12. With `this construction after the presser-foot has been unlocked and gages the arm 24, the further swinging movegroove u los' the abutment screw enscribed a machine embodying the same 1n i hination stitch rod and ment of the lever 94 to lift the presser-*foot does not ai'ect the link 10() or the parts actuated thereby to unlock the presser-foot.

Although the invention 'has been illustrated as embodied in a machine for sewing an outsole tothe attached welt, upper and insole of a welted shoe, it is to be understood that except as defined in the claims, vention is not limited to any particular machine or type of machine. v

It is also to be understood tha-tithe invention is not limited to the particular construction of the illustra-ted embodiment, but that it may be embodied in other forms within the scope of the claims.

Having explained the nature and object of the invention and having specifically deits preferred form, what is claimed is 1. A shoe sewing machine having in combination stitch forming devices, a Work support, a presser-foot, actuating mechanism for the presser-foot comprising a threaded rod, a nut threaded on the rod and means for relatively turning the nut and the rod to move the presser-toot Ain a direction to vary its 'distance from the Work support during each cycle of operations.

2. A shoe sewing` machine having in combination stitch forming devices, a work support, a presser-foot, mechanism for actuatingthe presser-foot, comprising means for yieldingly .engaging the presser-foot with the work, a threaded rod, a nut threaded on the rod and means for relatively turning the nut and the rod to move the presser-toot in a direction to vary its distance from the work support during each cycle of operations. y

3. A shoe sewing machine having in combination stitch forming devices, a work suport, a presser-foot, mechanism for actuatmgthe presser-foot, comprising a threaded rod,"a nut threaded on the rod and means for relatively turning the nut and the rod to movethe presser-foot in a direction to vary its distance from the work support and for relatively lockin the nut and the rod to lock the presseroot during each cycle of operations.

4. A shoe sewing machine having in comforming devices, a work support, a presser-foot mechanism for actuating the presser-toot. comprising means for yieldingly engaging the presser-toot with the work, a threaded rod, a nut threaded on the means for relatively turning the nut and the rod to raise the presser-foot during each cycle of operations.

5. A shoe sewing machine having in combination stitch forming devices. a work support, a presser-toot, mechanism for operating thc messer-fmt` comprising a threaded rod and nut threaded on the rod. means for relatively turning the nut and the rod to the in.

raise the presser-foot during each cycle of operations.

6. A shoe sewing machine having in combination stitch forming devices, a work support. a presser-foot, mechanism for actuating the presser-foot, comprising a threaded rod, a nut threaded on the rod and means for relatively turning the nut and the rod to raise the presser-foot and for relatively locking the nut and the rod to lock the presser-foot during each cycle of operations.

7. A shoe sewing machine having in combination stitch forming devices, a work support, a presser-foot, mechanism for actuating the presser-foot comprising means for yieldingly engaging .the presser-foot. with the work, a threaded rod, a nut threaded on the rod and means for relatively turning the nut and the rod to raise the presserfoot and for relatively locking the nut and the rod to lock the presser-foot during eac-h cycle of operations. i

8. A shoe sewing machine having in coinbination stitch forming devices. a work support, a presser-foot, mechanism for actuating the presser-foot, comprising means for yieldingly engaging the presser-foot with the work, a threaded rod, a nut threaded on the rod and means for relatively turning the nut and the rod to move the presser-foot in a direction to vary its distance from the work support and for relatively locking the nut and the rod to lock the presser-foot during each cycle of operations.

9. A shoe sewing machine having in combination stitch forming devices, a work support, a presser-foot, mechanism for actuatin tlie presser-foot, comprising a threaded roc a nut threaded on the rod and means for relatively turning the nut and the rod to move the presser-foot in a direction to vary its distance from the work support and for relatively locking the nut and the rod to lock the presser-foot during each c vcle of operations.

10. A shoe sewing machine having in combination, stitch forming devices. a wor support, a presser-foot. mechanism for actuating the presser-foot comprising means for yieldingly engaging the presser-foot with the work to permit the presser-foot to accommodate itself to work of var ving thickness, athreaded rod; a nut threaded on the rod and means for relatively turning the nut and the rod to raise the presser-foot from the work during each cycle of operation and to depress the presser-toot from the position it assumes under the action of said yielding means.

11. A shoe sewing machine having in combination, stitch forming devices, a work support. a presser-foot, mechanism for actuating the presser-foot. comprising means for moving the presser-foot yieldingly into engagement with the work, a threaded rod,

a nut threaded on the rod, means for relatively turning the rod and the nut to raise the presser-foot from the work acting to permit free relative turning movement thereof as the presser-foot is lowered into engagement with the Work during each cycle of operation.

12. A shoe sewing machine having in combination, stitch forming devices, a Work support, a presser-foot, mechanism for actuating the presser-foot, comprising means for yieldingly engaging the presser-foot with the Work to permit the presser-foot to accommodate itself to work of varying thickness, a threaded rod, a nut threaded on the rod, means for relatively turning the nut and the rod to raise the presser-foot from the Work and to depress the presserfoot from the position it assumes under the action of said yielding means acting to per-I mit free relative turning movement of the nut and the rod as the presser-foot is lowered into engagement with the Work.

13. A shoe sewing machine having in combination, stitch forming devices, a work support, a presser-foot, mechanism for actuating;r the presser-foot, comprising a longitudinally movable threaded rod, a rotatable nut threaded on the rod, means for preventing axial movement of the nut and means for rotating the nut during each cycle of operation to move the presser-foot in a direction to vary its distance from the work support.

' 14. A shoe sewing machine having in combination, stitch forming devices, a work support, a presser-foot, mechanism for actuating the presser-foot, comprisingr means for vieldingly engaging the presser-foot with the work, a threaded rod, a nut threaded on the rod, means for relatively turning the nut and the rod to depress the presser-foot from the position it assumes under the action of said means, and devices for controlling the action of said last means, having provision for adjustment to vary the extent of the depressing movement imparted to the presserfoot.

FRED ASHWORTH. Vv'itnesses:

CHESTER E. ROGERS, ABBIE L. FREAR. 

